2kg hops arrived with bags punctured, what would you do?

[OzzyPeeps]

Just received delivery of 3kg of hops at a cost of about €140

2 of the 3 vacuum packed pouches are punctured.

the three pouches are all sealed up together in plastic in the HB store's logo plastic

its not impossible they could have left the warehouse ok and somehow taken a knock in transit inside the box that somehow punctured the pouches without puncturing the outer plastic - but its very very unlikely.

so they probably left the warehouse like that and it is not the courier's fault.

- there is a visible hole in one and loose particles in the main bag

Im really pissed off, I paid good money for fresh hops.

mosaic and saaz are the pouches that are compromised at a cost of about €90

returning them would be a headache and I might have to cover the cost of the carriage myself.

obviously there is no way to know how long they have been sitting in a warehouse exposed to atmosphere.

bought them for dry hopping ...

im no expert but it seems like this could render them useless for that purpose.

what would you do?

try to return them or just take it on the chin and hope they havent lost too much aroma?

so infuriating

as they are 1kg / 2 pound bags the plan was obviously to repackage them after opening into smaller containers ...

thoughts?

thanks

Ozzy

 

[whoaru99]

Reads like the only satisfactory solution for you is for the company to fix it. I certainly would not open/mess with those packages any more than the damage ready is until you talked to the company to see what they say.

Is there a phone number? Call them and ask what they propose for resolution.

 

[Bassman2003]

I would call the LHBS, tell them what you saw when the box was opened and hope they care about their customer. It might have been in that condition all the way from their supplier. At this point, it does not matter other than the hops are oxidized now and you can't use them as intended.

It is a shame, and nobody wants to put the hurt on a LHBS but at some point you are allowed to be the customer paying good money for items.

I had an awkward situation regarding a LHBS selling my cousin expired yeast (past the use by date). When I got to his house to brew and the starter he had made was inactive, I marched up to the shop and demanded two fresh vials of yeast. Their initial reaction was "it will be fine". I said give me a break. You were just trying to clean out expired yeast to a inexperienced brewer and demanded fresh vials. They eventually gave us new yeast. That was a good LHBS and it surprised me how they were approaching the situation. Selling packets of dead cells at full price? Anyway, protect your interests if you have to.

 

[OzzyPeeps]

Reads like the only satisfactory solution for you is for the company to fix it. I certainly would not open/mess with those packages any more than the damage ready is until you talked to the company to see what they say

Put an extra bag over them and considering freezing the lot till it's sorted out or I decide what to do.

I figure if they are going back what to I care if they get mushy and if they are staying best place is freezer

Starting to thing there's a chance they left the warehouse ok and got popped in transit

As they are 1kg bags I was going to have to repackage into smaller packages and freeze anyway and don't have a vac packer so maybe Id be just as well doing that now...

If they've only been punctured a day or so how much aroma could they have lost do you think?

Thoughts on freezing?

 

[OzzyPeeps]

Reads like the only satisfactory solution for you is for the company to fix it. I certainly would not open/mess with those packages any more than the damage ready is until you talked to the company to see what they say.

Is there a phone number? Call them and ask what they propose for resolution.

They don't take phonecalls just emails so it will be tomorrow before hear nything

 

[OzzyPeeps]

I would call the LHBS, tell them what you saw when the box was opened and hope they care about their customer. It might have been in that condition all the way from their supplier. At this point, it does not matter other than the hops are oxidized now and you can't use them as intended.

It is a shame, and nobody wants to put the hurt on a LHBS but at some point you are allowed to be the customer paying good money for items.

I had an awkward situation regarding a LHBS selling my cousin expired yeast (past the use by date). When I got to his house to brew and the starter he had made was inactive, I marched up to the shop and demanded two fresh vials of yeast. Their initial reaction was "it will be fine". I said give me a break. You were just trying to clean out expired yeast to a inexperienced brewer and demanded fresh vials. They eventually gave us new yeast. That was a good LHBS and it surprised me how they were approaching the situation. Selling packets of dead cells at full price? Anyway, protect your interests if you have to.

Yeah, I guess we'll see.

Thoughts on freezing in the meantime?

 

[Bassman2003]

If they were damaged in transit, it seems the outer bag would show signs of trauma. Especially with a puncture.

Yes, I freeze all of my hops even after vacuum sealing.

 

[OzzyPeeps]

If they were damaged in transit, it seems the outer bag would show signs of trauma. Especially with a puncture.

Yes, I freeze all of my hops even after vacuum sealing.

There Is a sort of nick in the outer bag near where the hole in the Saaz pouch is but it's not actually broken so maybe it took aknock which somehow punctured the pouch inside without puncturing the outer bag. Not impossible and starting to think it's more likely than the warehouse guys trying to pass off damaged goods.

Don't have a vac packer

Why me god?

Why me

 

[Bassman2003]

That is complicated. The hops I have purchased in larger quantities were in mylar bags which are way tougher than the clear Zip-lock bag on the outside.

As a side note, if you do not have any kind of sealing method, why are you purchasing such large bags of hops? When I buy that much it gets divided and sealed which will then last me for 1-2 years. Maybe put some tape over the holes, put each bag in its own Zip-lock, store in the freezer and hope for the best. That is what you would be doing anyway after first use.

 

[hotbeer]

I wouldn't have even ask here until I found out what the vendor was willing to do. Over here, the online vendors tend to go over and above for customer satisfaction. I've never had a issue with hops. But for other things when ever there's been a issue, they send me a replacement and say to keep the other.

If you know what those hops should smell like when fresh, then do they? Store them as you do any hops you have opened. But not knowing when they were punctured, you probably should use them quick. Unless of course the vendor wants those back and is going to send you new.

 

[odie]

vacuum seal them into smaller bags, toss in freezer or fridge and move on with life.

they are probably just fine. They are not going to dry out and go bad overnight.

Your supplier got them in an even bigger bag, broke them open, exposed to air, repackaged, etc

The time spent worrying about them is time lost for you to properly repackage and store them.

 

[Bassman2003]

That would be a solution if the OP had a vacuum sealer.

 

[Yesfan]

No sealer? Ziploc bag and tape or rubber bands are your next best friend. After each use, I wrap mine to bleed the air out, seal it, then put a rubber band around them and chuck them in the freezer.

RDWHAHB......

 

[neale]

GetErBrewed sell themselves on customer service, and they have a responsibility to sell the goods exactly as they are described they should be. Contact them, I would expect they'll send out replacements to you and make a claim against their courier for the damage.

 

[OzzyPeeps]

GetErBrewed sell themselves on customer service, and they have a responsibility to sell the goods exactly as they are described they should be. Contact them, I would expect they'll send out replacements to you and make a claim against their courier for the damage.

Hey bud you in Ireland?

Yeah, contacted them, they will take back and replace, just posted it off now.

 

[OzzyPeeps]

Also got a vac sealer.

What do people do on that?

I'm thinking break down the key into 50g rations and vacuum seal in mylar bags?

What I'm wondering is whether it would be better to freeze them first in their original unopened sealed mylar pouch and the do the repackaging and vac sealing operation with them frozen ...

Seems like it would minimize loss of the delicate aromatics I'm addicted to as much as possible .... albeit a bit more hassle than not freezing as thell be frozen into a big lump ...


What do people do?

 

[neale]

Hey bud you in Ireland?

Yeah, contacted them, they will take back and replace, just posted it off now.

No not in Ireland, I'm in Sussex but GEB ship into the UK, I've been using them for a few years and always get good service from them.

Good you got it sorted.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I’ve never seen hop pellets become frozen into a clump, it is a very low moisture product, even cones that are propearly dried don’t do that. Good luck.
One more thought… if it is humid at your location repackaging with hops at at room temperature will prevent condensation from forming on the pellets while you are working at this.

 

[Bassman2003]

I plan out some recipes and divide the large bag into smaller quantities to seal. This way you only open "once" and then for use in a brew. Glad you got it sorted out. Maybe you can use the slightly oxidized hops for bittering.

 

[odie]

That would be a solution if the OP had a vacuum sealer.

the lead post stated the intent to re-package into smaller portions. with or without a vac sealer that was the stated intent.

I have one but usually don't bother. I keep in mason jars in fridge. I got a lid sealer attachment but usually don't bother since most of the air stays in anyway or the jar would collapse. It's sealed and cold. I do 20 plus bathces a year anyway...they get consumed in short order.

I'm long passed obsesing over certain things...

 

[odie]

Also got a vac sealer.

What do people do on that?

I buy bulk. 1 pound in the US. I used to make an extra long vacuum bag and dump them all in. I would then cut open the bag, use what needed and re-seal the bag, slightly shorter. Repeat until hops are gone or the bag got too short.

Now I just put them in mason jars. I got a lid sealer but it was very troublesome and hit-miss to get a good vacuum seal. Now I just screw on the lid, toss in fridge and call it good. With my usage rate I don't sweat it.

In a sealed bag, zip-loc or jar...closed up tight and stored cold is plenty good.

 

[Yesfan]

GetErBrewed sell themselves on customer service, and they have a responsibility to sell the goods exactly as they are described they should be. Contact them, I would expect they'll send out replacements to you and make a claim against their courier for the damage.

GetErBrewed? Don't they also have a YouTube channel?

 

[OzzyPeeps]

They do

 

[neale]

Ozzy just in case you didnt know there is a UK version of this forum which can be helpful for more local information. I use both and they are both great resources with many helpful and knowlegable users.

UK homebrew forum

 

[OzzyPeeps]

Ozzy just in case you didnt know there is a UK version of this forum which can be helpful for more local information. I use both and they are both great resources with many helpful and knowlegable users.

UK homebrew forum

I did not!!

Awesome thanks mate

 

[Quentin Nelson]

HOPe someone made it right! This is what I did with a pound of fresh hops my neighbor gave me, since I didn’t have access to usual vac sealer.

 

[Quentin Nelson]

Zip-lock bags, clamped tight in vice to squeeze out air. Then into fridge.

 

[OzzyPeeps]

Zip-lock bags, clamped tight in vice to squeeze out air. Then into fridge.

Jesus that's brutal

You shoulda wet hopped sumptin!

I wouldn't have thought whole cone hops would last all that long in the fridge ... what's the strain?

Do they smell amazing?